Rural-mail delivering and collecting systes.



- F. E. BEEN. RURAL MAIL DELIVERING ANDQOLLEGTING SYSTEM. APPLICATION FILED AUG.8, 1908.

Patented May 11,1909.

INVENTDR RE. BEEN.

FORREST EDWARD BEEN, OF MAGRATH, ALBERTA, CANADA.

RURAL-MAIL DELIVERING- .AND COLLECTING SYSTEM.

No. 921,50a.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 11, 1909.

Application filed August 8, 1908. Serial No. 447,638.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FoRREs'r EDWARD BEEN, of Magrath, in the Province of Alberta, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rural-Mail Delivering and Collecting Systems, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in rural mail delivery systems, and the objects of my invention are to provide means for delivering and collecting mail from a number of isolated rural stations, and such means as will enable a continuous service to be automatically eifected without manual attention.

In its construction, the invention includes a suspended track on which an electricallyoperated carrier is mounted, in combination with stations and means cooperative between the carrier and the stations for discharging and receiving a mail box at each station, all as hereinafter more fully set forth and described in the accompanying specification and drawings.

In the drawings,Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the track with the carrier mounted thereon. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the carrier. Fig. 3 is a perspective view through the front of the same. Fig. 1 is a section through one of the mail boxes. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the mail boxes. Fig. 6 is a sectional detail of the opening of the chamber in the carrier, adapted to receive the mail boxes. Fig. 7 is a transverse section on the line 2--2, Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a section through one of the receiving projections on one of the stations.

Referring to the drawings, A and B are the two tracks preferably in the form of wires, supported by brackets 10 and 11 from posts C D represents the carrier mounted on the track, the upper wheels 12 and 13 of which are supported by brackets 1 1 and 15, and the lower wheels 16 and 17 being supported from brackets 18 and 19 which extend in casings 20 and 21', and are pressed downwardly by springs 22 and 23, thereby resiliently holding the wheels in contact with the track. The carrier is driven by a suitable electric motor E located therein, and connected by suitable pulleys and belting with the wheels 14: and 15, the power for the motor being transmitted through tracks A and B in the usual manner for electrically-operated systems. 4

The carrier D is formed on the interior with a plurality of longitudinally-extending and rearwardly-opening chambers F, F, within which the mail boxes G, to be delivcred, are contained. Each of these mail containing boxes is rectangular in cross-section, and is provided at each end with outwardly protruding spring-actuating dogs 24, those in the embodiment illustrated being formed of hollow sheet metal, and extending through an aperture in the end of the mail box, having flanges 25 abutting the inside of the mail box and being actuated outwardly by a suitable spring 26. The width of the longitudinal chambers within which the boxes are contained is such that the dogs will be pressed inwardly in said chambers. The outside of the casing is provided on each side with notches 27 at the outlet of each of the chambers whereby when the boxcomes near the end the dogs 2& thereon will spring outwardly and remain in position ready to be engaged by the engaging means on the station, as hereinafter described. The mail boxes are normally pressed toward the ends of the chambers F by means of springs I-I within the chamber and the outermost box is prevented from passing out of the chamber by spring metal dogs 28 and 29, which extend over the slots 27 in the chamber and thus normally prevent the mail boxes from passing out of the chamber, but which yield when the dogs are engaged at the station to permit the box to be moved out.

To receive the mail. boxes from the different stations, a plurarity of forwardly opening longitudinally extending chambers I, I, are provided, these chambers having a plurality of pivoted dogs 30 near the mouth thereof, adapted to prevent the boxes from passing out after they have once entered. This is accomplished by providing a plate 31 below the pivoting points of the dogs having slots 3'2 therein, through which the dogs extend, one edge of the slot being adapted to bear against the side of the dog when the dog is in vertical position, shown in Figs. 6 and 7. The chambers are provided on the sides with slots 50 through which the dogs 2st on the boxes may extend,

ceiving stations comprising a post 33 having a rectangular frame 34 on top thereof,

which extends around the tracks A and To steady the carrier as it approaches a station, -a brace 35 extends from the post upwardly and :thence along the under track and other braces 36 and 3r extend through the side of the frame 3%, and are adapted to steady the sides of the carrier. On the sides of the frames 34, two spring arms 38 and39 are provided, having inwardly turned ends adapted to engage the outwardly-pro truding dogs 24; on the boxes, in one of the chambers F, while other projections a0 and 41 are provided between which the mail box to be collected by the carrier is held in readiness by the spring dogs.

{In operation of the system, the mail boxes are arranged in the carrier in the :order in which the stations occur, and the projections 38 and 39 are arranged at different heights on different stations, in such a :man ner that the mail will be discharged from the different compartn'ients F in the proper order. When the carrier :passes a station, one of the mail boxes will :be engaged by the projections 38 and 39 and withdrawn from the chamber F, and will then fall to the ground or into a suitable receptacle to be afterward collected by the proper recipient. At the same time the mail box supported between the projections 40 and 41 will enter into one of the chambers 1 and be carried along with the carrier. The power being supplied by the :tracks A and B, the carrier will pass through all'the stations without stopping, delivering and receiving mail from each.

As many changes could 'be made in the above construction, and many apparently widely different embodiments of my invention could be made without departing from the spirit or scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in these specifications and drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and 'not in a limiting sense. It is also to be understood that the language of the following claims is intended to cover such generic and specific features of the invention herein described, which, .as a matter of language, might be said to be included thereby.

What I claim as my invention is 1. A mail delivering system including tracks, stations at intervals thereon, a selfpropelling carrier mounted on the tracks having a longitudinally-extending, rearmay be sprung outwardly, means for pressing the =mai1 'box'to outermost position, re-

leasable means for preventing the outermost box from falling out ,and {means on the station for engaging the dogs on the outermost .box.

2. A mail delivering system including tracks, stations at intervals thereon, including frames, a mail (box having outwardly protruding dogs adapted to engage the side of the frame, a self-propelling carrier mounted :on the -.tracks having .a forwardlyopening ,collect the mail box supported from the frame, and pivoted dogs in the front of the compartment preventing the box passing out of ,the same.-

3. A mail delivering system including tracks, stations at intervals thereon comprising frames extending around the tracks and having inwardlycxtending projections, a mail box having outwardly actuated dogs adapted to engage the projections, a selfpropel ling carrier mounted on the tracks having a forwardly opening compartment adaptedtocollect-the mail box from between the projections.

et. A mail delivering system, including tracks, stations thereon comprising :recta-ngu-lar frames extending about the tracks, braces onthe stations supporting the underside -of :the tracks, a selfpropelling carrier mounted on the tracks, and means on each station, ,cotiperative with .the carrier, fordelivering a mailbox theretoand receiving a.

mail box therefrom.

A mail delivering system, including tracks, stations at intervals thereon, comprising vframes extending about the tracks,

a carrier, braces on the frames adapted to support the sidesof the carrier as it passes between therstations,-and means at each station for delivering a mail box to the carrier and for withdrawing one therefrom.

6. A mail delivering system, including tracks, stations at intervals thereon, including frames extending around the tracks, a mail box having outwardly-actuated spring dogs adapted to engage the frames, self- .propelling carriers mounted on the tracks having a forwardly opening compartment adapted to collect the mail :box from the frame.

:7. A anail delivering system, including tracks, stations thereon, a self-propelling carrier having a rearwardly opening com- :compartment therein, adapted to partment-boxes in said compartments hav- In Witness whereof I have hereunto set 111g outwardly spring-actuated dogs theremy hand in the presence of two Witnesses. 111, the sald compartment havlng means per- FORREST EDWARD BEEN Initting the extension of the dogs of the mail 5 box at a determined point and means in the Witnesses:

station adapted to engage the dogs on the S. J. SHEPHERD, box. J ESS. A. HARRIS. 

